Akcin, Dogan Can; (2025) Developing L2 Grammatical Knowledge Through Input-Based Tasks: An Aptitude-Treatment Interaction Study. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

Recent years have witnessed an increasing popularity in task-based language teaching (TBLT) in second-language acquisition (SLA). Its potential for focusing on language form during meaning-centered activities has spurred investigations into its role in second language (L2) grammar development. However, the effectiveness of combining input-based tasks with form-focused activities for L2 grammar learning remains under-researched, as does the influence of L2 aptitude in learning grammar via input-based tasks. This quasi-experimental research aimed to explore the pedagogical potential of input-based tasks in developing explicit and implicit L2 grammatical knowledge, considering the mediating role of explicit and implicit aptitude in grammar instruction integrated into input-based tasks. A quantitative research design was used with 215 Turkish intermediate L2 English learners at a Turkish public university. Participants were divided into two experimental groups via stratified random assignment, based on explicit aptitude measured by LLAMA F and implicit aptitude measured by the Serial Reaction Time (SRT) test. The control group performed input-based tasks without explicit or implicit grammar instruction, while the experimental groups completed ten tasks over five weeks. The tasks involved reading short news reports with meaning-focused activities. The experimental groups differed in instruction type: implicit (textual enhancement) and explicit (rule presentation). In the implicit group, the target grammatical structure (English passive voice) was bold and underlined, while the explicit group received grammar handouts. Grammaticality judgment tests (untimed and timed) were administered pre-, post-, and two weeks after the experiment to measure explicit and implicit knowledge. A written production test also elicited implicit or automatized explicit knowledge use. Results from a series of Kruskal-Wallis and Spearman correlation analyses revealed that, irrespective of learners’ language aptitude profiles, input-based tasks coupled with rule-based instruction and textual enhancement had a significant positive effect on learners’ gains in the knowledge of the target linguistic structure. As for the relationship between language aptitude and instructional effectiveness of input-based tasks, the study suggests that while the double dissociation hypothesis is a useful framework, it oversimplifies the complex interaction between cognitive aptitudes and instructional methods. Rather than functioning modularly, language aptitude appears to operate within a more flexible, integrative model where implicit and explicit processes may complement one another under certain conditions.

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